Bombardier’s version of the Evinrude Ficht motor will be put to the test—one that will last, we hope, several hundred hours.

The two-stroke outboard is on its last legs. But those legs—owned by North American engine makers Bombardier (Evinrude) and Mercury—are powerful ones. Mercury has stuck with its direct-injected OptiMax outboards. (PBR is still endurance-testing a 150-hp motor), and Bombardier continues its push to restore consumer confidence in the Evinrude DFI outboards (Ficht Ram). Bombardier, in fact, plans to discontinue the Ficht moniker, replacing it with E-Tec, a new and improved DFI motor based on the Ficht DFI system.

E-Tec engines in the lower horsepower settings – 45, 50, 60, 75, and 90—will be on the market in October, according to Bombardier spokeswoman Ann Stawski. By model year 2005, all of the…